Yang Ming, Seaspan in deal for up to 10 ships

Friday, January 04, 2013

Yang Ming is planning to charter up to 10 new 14,000-TEU containerships from Seaspan, according to reports published both by Reuters and Lloyd's List.Reuters quoted Yang Ming spokesman Windsor Huang as saying a deal is expected to be signed later this month.
The ships, to be built by Hyundai Heavy Industries, will have a fuel-efficient design created by Seaspan and Hyundai, and are expected to be used in the Asia-Europe trade.
The deal will initially involve construction and charter of five ships with an option for another five vessels.American Shipper was told the vessels are expected to cost around $110 million and be chartered for around $46,000-$48,000 per day.
According to Lloyd's List, the largest ships Yang Ming operates today have a capacity of 8,200 TEUs.
The research firm Alphaliner said Yang Ming has the world's 14th largest container ship fleet, 83 vessels with 358,510 TEUs of capacity. It said the Taiwanese carrier owns 49 ships with 230,271 TEUs of capacity and 34 chartered ships of 128,239 TEUs on charter. - Chris Dupin